


Just Breathe, You're Alright

by CalmClearSkies



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Epilepsy, Hiding Medical Issues, Hurt/Comfort, Spacefamily
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-19
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-15 01:05:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5766019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalmClearSkies/pseuds/CalmClearSkies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, I have a friend who has epilepsy, and he was telling me about some of the times he's had seizures. Poor Ezra seems to get all the whump in this fandom, so I'm evening up the score a little.</p>
<p>OR:</p>
<p>How each of the Ghost's crew members found out that Kanan has occasional seizures, and how they deal with it when it happens in front of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hera and Chopper

**Author's Note:**

> Rating is for language (although it's all Star Wars universe cursing, it's still cursing) just to be safe :)

**A/N: I'm no medic, all my info is gained from a friend and his experiences, so probably not 100% accurate. Characters are probably a little OOC too, sorry!**

The time Hera found out, it was thanks to a stroke of luck, and a grumpy droid. She'd been making repairs to the Ghost for a couple of hours, and needed a second pair of hands. She sent Chopper to find Kanan, while she carried on working. He wheeled off down the hallway, beeping and grumbling in discontent, towards Kanan's room, where he paused outside the door briefly. 

He crashed into the door once, twice, three times, but no answer was forthcoming, so he plugged in and use the override mechanism to force the door open. What he saw caused a stream of high pitched squeals, shrieks and beeps: Kanan was lying on his bunk, limbs thrashing, sweat pouring from him. Chopper opened his comm, alerting Hera to the situation. 

Hera was brought back from her thoughts by her comm buzzing, and Chopper's stream of incoherent chatter. She understood what she needed to though, and rushed down the twisting hallways to Kanan's room, stopping suddenly as she took in the sight before her. It took only a couple of seconds, before she sprung into action and crossed the small room, kneeling beside the bunk where Kanan was still thrashing uncontrollably. She gently ran a hand through his hair, her other hand gently placed on his shoulder, as the jerking movements began to slow.

"It's alright, Kanan, you're alright." She soothed, glancing back at Chopper and mouthing a thank you in his direction. Hera gently rolled Kanan onto his side, keeping a hand on him the whole time, as consciousness slowly began to return to him. "It's OK, you're safe, just relax."

"Hera?" Karan's voice was weak, every ounce of energy had been sucked from him. Still he tried to sit up, Hera gently pressing him back into the bed. "Hey, hey, just relax. You're alright." she said softly. Kanan groaned, blinking slowly as he began to focus on his surroundings. "What happened?" he asked, groggily.

"I should be asking you the same thing. We can talk about it later, for now, try to get some rest. You look exhausted." Hera said, the worry still fresh in her mind, but fading as she realised Kanan appeared to be OK. Kanan just looked at her, confused, occasionally mumbling incoherent words, and appearing agitated. Hera just knelt by his side, rubbing circles on his back and reassuring him, until after about five minutes, he drifted into sleep. Hera stayed put for another 10 minutes, before feeling confident enough to leave the room.

"Keep an eye on him Chop, anything happens, you call me, alright?" she said. Chopper gave a few affirming chirps, and Hera went back to carry on with the repair work. 

It was a couple of hours later, as Hera was grabbing something to eat in the common room, that Kanan appeared. He still looked exhausted, and was a little unsteady on his feet, a point made when he stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. Hera managed to catch him, carefully helping him over to one of the couches, where she sat beside him. 

"So, want to talk about what happened earlier?" she asked softly. Kanan nodded, but didn't meet her gaze. "Yeah. I get these, seizures, every so often. Haven't had one in years, I thought, maybe, I'd outgrown them. Guess not, huh?" he said, his voice still weak with tiredness. Hera took his hand in her own, squeezing it, gently. "That's why you didn't tell me? You thought they'd gone away?" Kanan nodded. 

"I only get them, once every 4-5 months maybe. Usually when I'm not taking care of myself. Like my body's way of telling me to rest." Hera had to smile at that, they had been working non-stop the past couple of weeks, it was understandable, in a way. 

They talked at length, about triggers, first aid, and Kanan's reassurance that it was highly unlikely to happen on a mission, he got an aura and usually a couple of hours warning of an imminent seizure. They also agreed, that the information would remain on a need to know basis. 


	2. Zeb

**A/N: Thank you so much for the kudos, comments and bookmarks, it makes me happy <3 Probably should add, I own nothing, and am just borrowing the characters for a little bit :)**

Zeb was always looking out for the unusual, his time in the Honour Guard had shown him that if you can spot a threat early, you've got more chance of taking it out before bad things happened. But, on a calm, clear day on a quiet Outer Rim planet, he saw no reason to worry, everything was going as it should. He and Kanan had gone out to get some supplies, while Hera and Chopper were back on the Ghost. He had only been with the crew a short time, but already was beginning to feel at home, and feel safe with this new group of people. 

"Alright, that's the last of it." Kanan said, stacking another crate on top of the one Zeb was already pushing, at this point Zeb was grateful for the anti-gravity feature, which was making the job a lot easier than it otherwise would have been. They loaded the crates into the Ghost, and then Zeb watched as Kanan headed back down the ramp.

"Hey, where you going?!" the Lasat called, unsure of where Kanan was going, on a fairly remote planet. "I don't know about you, but I could do with some downtime." the other man said. "If I'm not back by dinner, send a search droid!" he called, walking off into the distance. Zeb just shrugged, and watched him go.

It was a few hours later, when the crew realised Kanan hadn't returned. "Did he say where he was going?" Hera asked, worry creeping into her voice. "He goes off on his own all the time, but not for this long. It's getting dark." Zeb shook his head, wishing he could be more help. 

"I'll ping his comm, see if I can get a fix on him." Hera muttered, walking over to a nearby terminal, and beginning to press buttons furiously. "OK, I have coordinates. Zen, can you go after him? Just see what's going on, make sure he's alright." Zeb nodded, happy to be able to do something. He took the coordinates Hera gave him, and set off in search of their missing crew member. 

It took him about half an hour, but he eventually found Kanan stood on a small ledge, overlooking one of the many lakes on the planet. "Hey, Kanan." Zeb called quietly, not wanting to startle the other man. As he got closer, however, he began to feel uneasy - something was not right with this situation. Kanan turned to look at him, but his eyes were vacant and unseeing. "Hey, you alright?" Zeb asked, placing a hand on Kanan's shoulder. Suddenly, the other man stiffened, and Zeb gasped as Kanan collapsed backwards, the Lasat only just managing to catch him before he hit the dirt and rocks. "Kanan! Kanan, what's wrong?!" Zeb called, worry slowly beginning to turn to panic. That was, until Kanan's limbs began to contract and release in rhythmic convulsions, his eyes rolling back in his head and strange sounds were forced from his throat. Then Zeb knew what was happening, he'd seen it before. Too many times, he'd seen the seizures as the Empire used electricity to control the people of Lasan. 

Too many times, he'd witnessed people dying from the effects. He knew he had to act fast, the first thing he did was kneel behind Kanan's head, gently placing it in his lap to stop him concussing himself on the hard ground. Then he pulled out his comm and began calling for help. 

"Alright, I'm on my way Zeb. Just keep him safe, if he wakes up, keep him calm, and if it lasts more than 5 minutes, call me back." Hera said, her voice calm and authoritative. Zeb groaned, looking at his watch - 2 minutes, still too long for his liking, but not in the danger zone yet. He watched as his fellow crew member - no, his friend - was gripped by the seizure. Another minute crawled by, before the jerking motions began to slow. "Karabast, I thought that was never gonna end." Zeb said, to no one in particular. He shifted position, lifting the man is his lap slightly, so that he was propped in a reclined position in Zeb's arms, and called out to him. "Kanan, can you hear me? Open your eyes pal, you're alright." At first there was no response, but just as Zeb was about to try again, Kanan's eyes shot open, looking around wildly. He began struggling against Zeb, breathing heavily. "Kanan, hey, calm down, you're OK." Zeb said, his voice soft and unthreatening, but Kanan was still struggling. "You're OK, Kanan, just breathe, you're fine." he tried again, this time shifting his arms so that he could hold Kanan upright, and rub circles on his back. "I've got ya, you're alright." 

Awareness flashed into Kanan's face, and he stilled, looking at the Lasat in confusion, "Zeb?" Zeb nodded, "The one and only. How you feeling?" 

Kanan thought for a moment, "Tired." he replied, his eyes beginning to droop with sleep. "Alright, you rest a while, Hera should be here any minute." 

The Ghost arrived a few minutes later, and Zeb gently carried a sleeping Kanan up to his bunk, before retreating to his own bed, the events of the day finally taking their toll. It was a couple of days later, over breakfast, that he finally learned the truth. Kanan caught him as he was leaving to head for the 'fresher. "I wanted to say, thanks. For helping me the other day. Sorry you had to go through that." Zeb shrugged, "Figured you got attacked by someone with an electricity probe, didn't know that was a thing you humans could get randomly." Kanan nodded, "I only get them every few months, and not usually on missions, but I can see that can't have been a pleasant thing to see." Zeb nodded. "You're right about that. It brought back some memories I'd rather forget."

"Lasan?" Kanan asked, gently.

"Yeah. Made me remember how helpless I felt when it was all going on. Just, promise me, if you feel one coming on, you'll tell us, not go wandering alone? Nearly gave Hera a heart attack worrying where you'd gone. Stars, almost gave me one when I found you and you keeled over.'

 Kanan nodded, "Alright, I agree that'd be the sensible thing to do. Just, can we keep this between all of us? I like to tell people on my own terms."

"What, you mean when they witness you having a seizure?!" Zeb said, his tone joking.

"Hey, it doesn't happen often. People don't need to know, until they need to know." Kanan replied, a smile crossing his face. 


	3. Request Time :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's not an actual chapter, but I have a request :)

Hi guys,

Really sorry this isn't a full chapter - that should hopefully happen tomorrow - but I have a request. I did post down in the comments but I don't think many people saw, so hoping a posting here gets more responses.

I'm looking for some fan art for this story - if you can help, please get in touch. I'd absolutely ADORE colour images, but to be honest, anything anyone is willing to provide would be AMAZING!! Please, please please :)

Also, I've been catching up: Legacy? Broke me! So many feels! 

Thanks guys! Proper update hopefully coming tomorrow :)


	4. Sabine

**A/N: Thank you so much for the views, kudos and comments so far, I'm overwhelmed! Still looking for some art, so please drop me a comment or an email at eyeseetheice@mail.com if you can help with that :) This chapter borrows a little from real life, in that certain times, it's necessary to give drugs to stop a seizure. However, that's all I know, and so everything else is from my own brain. Also, I don't own Rebels, though I wish I did :)**

Kanan, Hera and Zeb settled into somewhat of a routine over the next few months. Zeb began to learn the signs that Kanan could potentially have a seizure, Kanan realised he could stop hiding himself away during those times, and Hera began to trust her newest crew member - after all, he'd dealt with seizures before, and handled the first one he'd seen like a pro. They took precautions, of course, trying to allow sufficient downtime for them all to recover after tough missions, and keeping a stock of anti-convulsion meds in the small med-bay - to be used if a seizure went on longer than 5 minutes. But so far, things seemed to be keeping to some kind of normality for the rebels, until the arrival of a certain artistic Mandalorian.

It had been a quiet day on the Ghost, Sabine had barricaded herself in her room, working on some form of art, Kanan was making some minor wiring repairs in the rear cargo hold, Hera and Zeb had gone on a supply run, and Chopper was recharging, powered down in sleep mode in the maintenance bay.

It was only after Hera and Zeb had returned, that Kanan went to retrieve the newest member of the crew from her room. "Hey, Sabine! Dinner's ready, you coming?" Kanan called through the door. The Jedi waited a moment, then knocked again, louder this time. His persistence was rewarded, when Sabine opened the door, covered in blotches of various coloured paint, and clutching a bunch of papers. "Alright, I'll be there in a second. First, I need to show you something!" she said, dragging Kanan into the room. What he saw made him smile - Sabine had personalised the space with various works of art painted on the walls, although he wasn't sure Hera would see it the same way. "This is amazing Sabine, but, uh, does Hera know what you've been up to?" he winced as an strange fuzziness began to encroach on his vision. He'd been feeling off for about 45 minutes, and had a feeling he knew what was coming next. 

"Yes, and no. She said I could do art in here, but she didn't specify that it had to be on paper." Sabine responded, a grin crossing her features. She walked over to the bed and pulled out two sheets of thick, heavy paper. "This is what I wanted to show you though. I'm making them for everyone, as a way of saying thank you." Kanan took the pages she offered, his vision swimming, but able to make out the incredibly detailed drawings of Zeb and Hera. "I'm still working on yours, and Chopper's." Sabine added, blushing slightly. 

"Sabine, this is phenomenal. But, why are you saying thank you? I-" Kanan was cut off then, as he felt the presence of a seizure wash over him like a wave. He staggered, trying to ease himself to a safe position, Sabine caught his arm, looking at him with fear flooding her features. "Kanan? Kanan, talk to me. What's wrong?! HERA! ZEB!" She yelled, her heart pounding in her chest, as she was quickly joined by the others. 

"I don't know what happened, we were talking and then he just, he just went like this!" Sabine said, she had managed to catch Kanan under his arms and was holding him upright in front of her. "Get him onto the bed, quickly." Hera instructed, "It's best if he's lying down, before it starts, safer for him and us." Zeb helped Sabine lower the now unconscious man onto the bed, and Hera set a timer running as the first jerks began. "What's going on?" Sabine asked quietly. She'd never seen anything like this, and to say she was a little freaked out was an understatement. She was just finding her place in the crew, having been with them for around 6 weeks already. "Seizure, he gets them sometimes. He'll be alright." Zeb said, as Hera knelt beside the violently shaking Jedi. This wasn't a bad one, by Kanan's standards, but the normal jerking movements were accompanied this time by tremors that wracked his whole body, and that had Hera concerned. 

"What can we do?" Sabine asked. "Not a lot until it stops, then it's just reassurance and keeping him calm. He wakes up from them confused." Hera explained. Just at the 3 minute mark, Kanan's body finally stilled, and his breathing began to even out. Hera took one of his hands, whispering reassurance as he slowly began to regain consciousness, while Zeb and Sabine watched on in the background. Sabine carefully moved over to the bed beside Hera, gently placing a hand on Kanan's shoulder. Zeb watched over the three of them, a protective streak ignited, and as Kanan began to become more lucid, he went off in search of some pain meds. It was a common, but annoying side effect of the seizures that Kanan would wake with a blinding headache. Zeb had learned that the second time he'd been witness to an episode. When he returned, he was happy to see the Jedi much more alert, and he handed over the meds with a glass of water, both received gratefully. 

"Thanks Zeb, appreciate it." Kanan said, swallowing the pills with ease. "No worries, mate. Figured you'd be tired enough without a headache to deal with as well." the Lasat replied. 

"Kanan, are you OK? What was that?" Sabine asked. Kanan looked at her and replied, "I'm alright, Sabine. Tired, but I'll be alright after some rest. Think you can help me back to my room?" he asked, glancing at Hera as if to say, " _I need to explain this, sooner rather than later."_ Hera nodded, understanding crossing her face. 

As they walked, Sabine's arm around Kanan's waist, one of his arms looped around her shoulders, the Jedi tried to explain what had just happened. "For some people, it's flashing lights, some people have seizures when they run a fever, for me, it's kind of... If I don't take care of myself, and i've been under a lot of stress, like with back to back missions like we just had. It's like a circuit breaker snaps in my brain and the seizure is my body's way of re-setting. I've had them as a kid, doctors said it wasn't dangerous because generally they're not too long. Just annoying, and scary for people to witness, I'm guessing?" 

Sabine nodded, "Yeah. That scared me, I'm not gonna lie! As long as you're OK. Oh, and the reason I wanted to say thank you to you all? It was for giving me a chance, helping me when I needed it." Kanan nodded, his memory of their previous conversation slowly returning. 

It was a few days later, when a piece of paper slid under his door. It was a picture of him, surrounded by the crew, in a bubble of calm blue, while around them, colours swirled, danced and merged into a cacophony of shapes and vortices. On the back of the page, in Sabine's neat, script-like writing, was the words, "Thank you, for giving me a chance, and thank you for explaining. Hera told me you don't like talking about it, so thank you for trusting me." 

 

 **A/N: And there we go, another chapter :) This one is probably way OOC, but I had the imagery and stuff in my head, and thought I'd give a nod to Sabine needing to feel like people trusted her, so there ya go :)**  


End file.
